Eurostar trains shut down indefinitely

Posted: Monday, December 21, 2009

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LONDON - The only passenger rail link between Britain and the rest of Europe has been shut down indefinitely, Eurostar said Sunday, promising more travel misery for thousands of stranded passengers just before Christmas.

Services have been suspended since late Friday, when a series of glitches stranded five trains inside the Channel Tunnel and trapped more than 2,000 passengers for hours in stuffy and claustrophobic conditions. More than 55,000 passengers overall have been affected.

Some panicked passengers stayed underground for more than 15 hours without food or water, or any clear idea of what was going on - prompting outrage from travelers and a promise from Eurostar that no passenger train would enter the tunnel until the issue had been identified and fixed.

Eurostar runs services between England, France and Belgium. The company said Sunday it had traced the problem to "acute weather conditions in Northern France," which has seen its worst winter weather in years.

Eurostar commercial director Nick Mercer said three test trains sent through the Channel Tunnel on Sunday ran successfully, but it became clear that the especially bad weather meant that snow was being sucked into the trains in a way "that has never happened before."